THEATER REVIEW: Ion tingles the spine with eerie 'Mystery Plays'

Fans of "The Twilight Zone" will feel like they've stepped inside the murky depths of an old TV set this month at Ion Theatre's production of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's "The Mystery Plays."

This pair of interconnected one-act plays is eerie and engrossing in the same way Rod Serling's early-'60s TV series was, and they're book-ended by an intentionally tongue-in-cheek introduction and epilogue by a cheesy narrator named the "Mystery Man."

Some strong performances ---- particularly in the second play, "The Ghost Children" ---- bring depth to the two-hour program, and Glenn Paris' direction (thanks in part to Claudio Raygoza's mesmerizing projections) keep the viewer fascinated.

Aguirre-Sacasa pays tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, Alfred Hitchcock and Serling with the two short plays, which the Mystery Man (a seriocomic John Polak) describes as two stops on a lonely journey we all travel. The intro (about two razed houses of secrets and mysteries) doesn't seem to have much to do with the plays themselves, but it mimics the hokey, overdramatic style of '60s TV scripting.

The first play, "The Filmmaker's Mystery," is set at Christmastime on a southbound train from New York to Virginia. Young gay Brooklyn-based horror film director Joe is heading home for the holidays when Nathan, a handsome young gay neurologist, enters his cabin. They hit it off and strike up a warm conversation about horror novels and films. Then, when Joe heads to the dining car to buy some beer mid-route, he inexplicably steps off the train and it leaves the station without him. Only later does he learn that every person on that train will die in a horrible crash and fire. Why was Joe saved? Could it have something to do with Nathan's reference to a "Sin Eater" and the penance he must pay? And who's responsible for a grisly series of unsolved murders in the region?

Although Raygoza's projections of the train scenery passing by are terrific, and there are a few surprises in the story, "The Filmmaker's Mystery" is the weaker of the two plays. The idea that a fledgling horror filmmaker in his early 20s could secure Kate Winslet for his film debut and have Hugh Jackman sending him fruit baskets strains credulity. Same goes for Joe's apparent sense of freedom after the crash (wouldn't police have brought him in for questioning immediately?).

Ethan Tapley's a likable, if increasingly neurotic, everyman as the filmmaker Joe. Benjamin Cole plays Nathan as a man who's just a bit off. Sherri Allen is Joe's pushy agent and Gemma Grey is Joe's exasperated lawyer, Abby. In their brief phone conversation, Abby scolds the increasingly frantic Joe for not showing more compassion toward her as she prepares to fly west to deal with family problems. Abby's story is the subject of the second play.

The title "Ghost Children" refers to the lost childhood of Abby and her incarcerated brother, Ben. As the play opens, Abby has flown back to their hometown of Medford, Ore., where Ben's case is up for review. Sixteen years before, Ben beat to death their abusive parents ---- as well as their 11-year-old sister, Becky ---- with a baseball bat. Imprisoned for life, Benny has continuously written to Abby for forgiveness, but she has refused to respond.